As the Food Bank’s Online Communications Manager, much of my time is spent working out how to best communicate about our mission, programs, statistics and more so that you, our supporter, understand all aspects of the Food Bank’s work and the state of hunger in our city.
For those of you who read this blog, our website, e-newsletters, print newsletter, reports or more, I hope you feel we’re doing a good job. (If you ever have questions, post a comment on this blog! We’ll definitely reply, and may even respond with a blog post that addresses your question.)
In addition to making sure that you understand the Food Bank’s work — the Food Bank wants to make sure we understand you, and are able to help you through the process of learning about our organization. To that end, we recently created a Supporter Survey.
Once you complete our Supporter Survey, we will immediately direct you to a web page providing information and links corresponding to your specific interests and goals. In addition, we will include information relevant to your interests in our future communications. So, please take a couple minutes to take our survey, and let us help you learn more about our efforts to end hunger throughout the five boroughs.
Can't make it to the Food Network New York City Food & Wine Festival this weekend, but would love to experience it vicariously? Just want to see what everyone is saying about it? Looking to beef up your celebrity chef obsession?
Throughout Columbus Day weekend, thousands of Food Bank supporters, foodies, chefs, restaurants, food companies and more will be participating in one of New York's biggest culinary events — benefitting the Food Bank and our friends, Share Our Strength — and you can follow along in real time through Twitter. All you have to do is search for #nycwff using search.twitter.com.
Or, you can follow your favorites. Here are all of the festival participants I have been able to find on Twitter. If I'm missing someone — let me know by adding them as a comment!
p.s. I will personally be volunteering tonight at the Blue Moon Burger Bash. Feel free to tap me on the shoulder and say hi!
Festival Founder & Food Bank Board Member: Lee Schrager (@Lee_Schrager)
A couple weeks ago, I posted to this blog about how impressed I have been with the communal, supportive culture that the Food Bank has found on Twitter. And now I’m here again to tell you about our latest Twitter partnership — with Twitter For Food (@HungerNoMore).
Run by a Californian named Tim Blair, Twitter for Food is Tim’s personal project to encourage the Twitter community to skip lunch and donate the cost to their local food bank on the first of every month. And now Twitter for Food has become the Food Bank’s latest “Go Orange” partner!
Helping to raise awareness as part of NYC Goes Orange (#NYCorange) — the Food Bank’s biggest campaign of the year — Twitter for Food is turning their website and Twitter profile orange for a full month!
As he does every month, Tim is asking all of you Tweeters out there to post awareness-raising #twitterforfood messages to Twitter — to encourage people to donate to hunger relief and to spread orange and hunger-awareness.
p.s. I also wanted to give a shout out to another great Twitter partner — Fare a la Femme (@FarealaFemme). For the past two weeks, the Fare a la Femme blog has helped raise awareness by posting weekly NYC Goes Orange recipes! Orange Cake, Orange and Apricot Biscotti, mmmmm….
When talking about my work in social networking, I often find myself saying that, like more traditional networks, when you enter a well-established social networking site you are entering a well-established culture — with its own traditions and dos and don’ts. And with the network I am most often asked about these days — Twitter — I am continually impressed with its open, communal culture.
You’re always going to find those who tweet [post messages] constantly about their wardrobes and The Bachelor. But Twitter also includes many communities dedicated to sharing information related to their particular interest — whether that is philanthropy, food, local news, music or IT — and having real conversations on those topics.
Twitter has also proven to be a valuable awareness-raising tool. I was first convinced of this fact last March, when I took about five minutes during a day to post three messages about a Whole Foods event benefiting the Food Bank. At the time, the Food Bank had about 350 followers. But during that one day, four or five supporters retweeted [RTed; reposted] our messages to their community — helping the Food Bank reach an audience of up to 5,000 individuals! A three-minute commitment to reach 5K potential supporters? That’s pretty incredible. And now our supporters RT our messages every day (especially @lorenita327 — thanks!), spreading our messages and links throughout the Twitter community.
Because of how impressed we have been with the folks on Twitter, the Food Bank is now asking our followers to “Go Orange.” Throughout NYC Goes Orange — our biggest campaign of the year — our tweeps can add an orange crown to their photo. Plus, we will be announcing a new way to “Go Orange” on Twitter every month on our Online Toolkit through the end of the year!
For those of you looking for a good and easy way to “Go Orange” and support hunger relief in New York City — try Twitter! It’s a great way to raise awareness with just a few clicks a day.
In the wonderful world of Disney, there is always a happy ending. Prince Charming comes in to save the day, the bad guy is slain, and everyone walks away into the sunset. While this is not reality, Disney has taken to bringing a happy ending to the community. Disney recently sent two enthusiastic volunteer groups to the Food Bank’s Warehouse Repack Program — repacking well over 10,200 pounds of food.
Like those brooms commanded by the Mickey’s magic wand, the group eagerly rolled up their sleeves and got right to work. The hands moved at a hurried pace — with a sense of urgency, knowing that they were working to feed thousands of hungry New Yorkers (10,200 pounds of food can help create close to 8,000 meals!).
When the food started running low, several of the team members asked how they could help to get more food out — could you imagine the sight of volunteers WANTING to go and grab items off the shelves? Yes, they broke a sweat, maybe even chipped a nail, but each volunteer worked with a smile that is synonymous with Disney.
August has been a busy month with the high demand we have seen at our Community Kitchen and Pantry of West Harlem, not to mention all of the preparing we’re doing for our busiest season of the year, fall. In preparation — not only for the fall, but for the increasing demand we have seen at the Community Kitchen — BNP Paribas came in and completely remodeled and expanded our garden!
We went from growing a few herbs occasionally to harvesting more than two dozen herbs, vegetables and fruit weekly! Yes, weekly! In addition to providing all of the funds and volunteers to remodel the garden, BNP Paribas staff comes and volunteers every Wednesday to help maintain and harvest the garden — a little something their coordinator, Esther Reid, likes to call "Weeding Wednesdays." Talk about dedication.
My time at EATWISE (Educated & Aware Teens Who Inspire Smart Eating) over the summer of 2008 was an experience I will never forget. I learned valuable information regarding food and nutrition, such as micro- and macronutrients, diet-related diseases and hunger and poverty. We used what we learned to conduct nutrition-education workshops for elementary school students, and volunteered at places like the Food Bank’s Community Kitchen and Senior Food Program.
In addition to teaching about good nutrition and helping provide food to other New Yorkers, we had meals of our own every Wednesday when we learned how to make healthy, nutritious food and snacks like maple almond granola.
EATWISE made me realize my passion for food and nutrition. I made many friends who helped make this my most memorable and unforgettable experience. Through all that we have learned and accomplished in this program, I know that I want to be a dietitian. I want to spread my love of food and nutrition, and the knowledge I have gained, to others who want to eat healthier, or who struggle with their weight. I want to impact others the way EATWISE has impacted me.
I recently had the pleasure of coordinating two interns from the Brooklyn International High School, which has students from more than 23 countries. Adler, from Haiti, and Maria, from Peru, provided much needed assistance to the staff at our downtown Manhattan office, where they were able to intern three days a week for about three months.
Their internships were unique as they were able to help out in three completely different areas of the Food Bank each day: Volunteer Services, Individual & Major Giving and Nutrition & Health Education. This is all in addition to their involvement with our EATWISE Program, through which they helped raise awareness among their peers about food issues.
“…working as volunteers at the Food Bank was a great experience…we feel very pleased to have had the opportunity…”
— Adler & Maria
Now that their internships are over, we’re going to miss them very much, not only because they helped out so much, but because they also added to the fun work atmosphere here. We can only hope to have such dynamic interns in the future.
If you’re interested in interning or volunteering with the Food Bank, please don’t hesitate to contact me at volunteer@foodbanknyc.org. Volunteers and interns, both at our programs and in our office, are very crucial to the Food Bank's operations.
It’s 3:15 pm on a Monday afternoon and I’m strolling into the Food Bank’s Community Kitchen in West Harlem, where I volunteer three days a week. I stop for a moment to look at the menu. It’s chicken day: curried chicken with rice and broccoli, fresh baked bread, apples, salad and juice.
When I notice the date, I do a double take. My mind races a bit, I check again, and it’s the second to last week of the month. This is about the time every month when our lines really grow, as many New Yorkers struggle to stretch their budgets till the end of the month. At about 4 pm it’s going to get crazy in here, and I have to mentally I prepare myself.
A favorite pastime of some of the clients is to compare the plates to see which is bigger. They’re pretty much all the same but when you’re turning to a soup kitchen because you can’t afford a full month’s worth of groceries, a small difference can feel really big.
The absolute best part for me is when the clients finish eating and they walk by the serving table to say “Thank you, that hit the spot,” or “My compliments to the chef.” Or looking over the table and seeing the smile on their faces while they eat…that’s something I take with me. It brings satisfaction knowing it’s a job well done.
A great Food Bank friend, Zachary Pomerantz, and I would like to introduce our blog readers to the Young Professionals — a group of successful, socially conscious and motivated individuals who are committed to ending food poverty throughout the five boroughs. The group’s goal is to assist the Food Bank in its effort to end hunger through community action, and raise money in support of the Food Bank's Community Kitchen.
Zachary Pomerantz has been involved in the Young Professionals since 2005, joining the group not only because it’s a great cause, but also because he has lived in New York City his entire life and thinks it is essential to give back to your community. He currently works as a Real Estate Asset Manager at Janoff & Olshan, Inc. and, “on the side,” is Young Professionals Co-Chair.
Here’s a note from Zach about a recent event he helped organize:
This spring, the Young Professionals held a fundraiser at Rouge Tomate. Every dollar brought in at the event directly supported the Food Bank’s Community Kitchen in West Harlem. The kitchen provides 365,000 meals annually through its pantry and meal services, so every dollar really counts.
We had a great turnout — about 60 people came out to support the kitchen! Combined with raffle tickets sold that night, we were able to raise funds for close to 10,000 free meals! A quick thank you to Grey Goose for sponsoring the event, and thanks to everyone on the YP who helped make the evening so great! There are more events and volunteer opportunities to come, so stay in touch or contact me for more information by joining our Facebook page. See you at the next YP event!
Kate Hindin, This Is Your Life
Kate Hindin said: Thank you Daniel for this wonderful homage! I will always cherish my time at the Food Bank. I got to...
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A Taste of Tennis
San Antonio Tennis Lessons said: Wow great food and a a great sport, what more could you ask for?
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August has been a busy month with the high demand we have seen at our 
My time at 
I recently had the pleasure of coordinating two interns from the Brooklyn International High School, which has students from more than 23 countries. Adler, from Haiti, and Maria, from Peru, provided much needed assistance to the staff at our downtown Manhattan office, where they were able to intern three days a week for about three months.
